II. The Attitude and Relationship of the Workers

C. Being Liberal

Witness Lee continues with a word about the need for the local churches to be liberal with one another. In other words, even though one local church may not be identical to another local church in its practices, differences in practices never justify divisiveness; rather, such differences should be tolerated for the sake of the oneness of the Body of Christ. As he explains it,

The church in Los Angeles may use one cup for the Lord’s table, and the church in San Francisco may use many cups. That is all right. Let them be different. The brothers in one locality may practice immersion, and the brothers in another locality may practice sprinkling. Be liberal. Do not try to unify their action; do not try to make them uniform. What good is it for all of us to be unified or uniform? As long as our intention is to build up the Body of Christ, it is good enough.

Perhaps some will accuse me of being too liberal. Actually, I know which practice is better and which practice is inferior, but what I mean is that there is not much difference in reality, in spirituality, between this and that. There is no need to insist that everyone do the same thing.

All the local brothers and sisters have to learn the same lesson of being liberal. Whatever is good for helping people know Christ, we are for it. Whatever is good for the preaching of the gospel to get sinners saved, we have to be for it. However, whatever is divisive, factious, we must keep our hands off. (119-120)

In conclusion to this chapter, and exemplifying the attitude he maintained toward his own work and toward the work of all of the Lord’s servants, Witness Lee issues a particular charge to all believers. He exhorts them to remember that their purpose, goal, and standing is not any particular ministry, but the Body of Christ — the church — and the expression of the Body of Christ in every city — the local church:

Do not say, “I am of Paul” or “I am of Apollos” or “I am of Peter.” Do not regard someone as higher than others. If their ministry is a help to you, take it. You have to realize that you are not for any ministry, but you are for the church, for the expression of the Body of Christ. Do not say that you are for this brother or that brother. This is something fleshly (1 Cor. 3:4). We recognize that all the servants of the Lord are sent by the Lord and are given as gifts to His Body and that they have different ministries. We take all the good matters of these ministries. But if there is anything factious, divisive, we have to be careful.

None of us is here for the ministry. We are all here for the Body, the church. The workers should take the attitude that their work is not for their own ministry, and all the local saints should learn the lesson not to stand for anything other than the church. Simply stand for the local expression of the church because the local church, not the ministry, is the lampstand for Christ.

By the Lord’s mercy, I am a brother with a ministry here. If the saints here are standing for my ministry instead of the local expression, I have to tell you that you are wrong. You should not stand for any ministry, even my ministry. What you have to stand for is the church, the local church. Any minister with any ministry or any worker with any work who comes here must be for the local church. If it is not for the local church, you have to say, “No, you are going to build up something other than the lampstand, something other than the local expression of the Body. We would not go along with this.” (120-121)

Witness Lee concludes by addressing the attitude the Lord’s servants, the individual believers, and each local church should hold concerning particular ministries and their relationship to the local churches. All Christian work and each ministry must not be for itself, but for the local churches as Christ's lampstands. Believers should not be for any person or any ministry, but rather, should openly and impartially receive whatever is helpful to them for the building up of the Body of Christ through their local church. Even the local churches themselves must practice liberality toward one another, tolerating any differences in practice for the sake of the oneness of the Lord’s Body.

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